I Am Legend

I am aware of the fact that this 2007 blockbuster is a remake of a remake. It's a remake of "The Omega Man", which is a remake of "The Last Man on Earth". All three films are adaptations of the novel, "I Am Legend", by Richard Matheson. I haven't seen the previous two versions, but definitely intend to. However, for now, since I've just seen this 2007 version of "I Am Legend", and haven't seen the rest, I'll just have to judge it strictly as a movie, not how it compares to the previous two, or the book. So, while this particular version of the story seems to be polarizing, I was definitely impressed.

In 2012, three years after a genetically modified virus which was supposed to cure cancer ended up wiping out most of the world's population, a scientist named Robert Neville, immune to this virus, appears to be the only uninfected human left in New York City, maybe even the world, and his only companion is his dog, Sam! Neville does research in his basement laboratory to try and find a cure for the virus, and regularly sends out radio messages, calling for other survivors to come and meet him, if there are any out there, but so far, this has not worked. Eventually, the scientist discovers people in New York who have not been killed by the virus, but have been mutated by it, and as a result, they have become dangerous monsters! Worse still, there are many of them in the city, and Neville is still waiting to see another uninfected human, so he is grossly outnumbered!

This film is slow-paced around the beginning, but this works well, starting with the introduction to the virus which was yet to fail, and going from there to views of a deserted New York, which are reasonably intriguing. Some scenes may be a bit tedious, such as Robert Neville looking through the dark building before finding the mutants, and the camera is sometimes a bit unsteady, but to make up for the flaws, there's quite a bit of tension (which includes scenes with the mutated, zombie-like humans and they're chases and attacks, even though I'm sure we've seen scenes like that before in movies), as well as some poignant moments, with Neville and his loneliness. Also, for Bob Marley fans, the main character is a big fan of his, and at one point, he talks about Marley and his philosophies. As someone who listens to his music and has read a lot about his short life, this part definitely touched me, and it obviously isn't featured in the previous two adaptations, as they were both made before Marley became an international superstar.

Yes, this film has its flaws, and seems to have gotten a lot of positive feedback as well as negative, but personally, I have to give it a positive review. While not quite a masterpiece, I still found it to be a memorable sci-fi/horror film, with a fair amount of suspense, action, and poignancy. Once again, I don't know how it compares to the book or the previous two adaptations of it, and clearly, it seems to be widely considered inferior to those, but while that may be true, I cannot join the naysayers on this one. If you see this version of "I Am Legend", I guess you could easily end up on either side, but if you want to see a combination of sci-fi, horror, and drama, and you're a Will Smith fan, I think it's worth a try, and yes, it just MIGHT help a BIT if you're a Bob Marley fan.

Am Legend is an action thriller movie directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan and Dash Mihok in the lead roles.

The movie is based on a scientist Robert Neville played by Will Smith who is the last human survivor after majority of mankind is wiped dur to a lethal virus.

The movie should be remembered as one of the best acting by Will Smith as he was alone character in majority of the movie. He has played the role of a scientist with perfection.

Screenplay is good but gets little slow and boring in between. Plot is fresh and has executed nicely. Location setup is nice. The only drawback is climax as climax could've been executed much better.

A nice movie backed by strong acting by Will Smith

The legendary book comes to life, in this Francis Lawrence adaption. A perfect decision in casting Will Smith as the main protagonist greatly improves the film. The movie's visuals are pretty good even though some people may say otherwise. All in all, it's a great adaption of a terrific novel.

I just saw this movie today, the day it opened here. And was deeply, deeply moved.

I've got to start with the scenes of a deserted New York City post-apocalypse. These were so very, very moving; and very, very convincing. The clips in the trailers for the movie were good, but you really have to see the full panoply of close-up shots, distance shots, etc to really appreciate the sheer scale of what this movie is depicting. There's something of On the Beach and Resident Evil and of any number of disaster movies and zombie movies here. But none of them do justice to the New York depicted here. This is a New York City we see large-scale and micro-scale in order to show us the environment in which the main character is acting.

And Will Smith is simply brilliant as the sole survivor, Robert Neville. Will delivers movingly and convincingly on a script that really focuses on giving us a picture of "what it would be like" ... to be the last man on earth, living off the land in NYC. This is the real strength of this movie: there's really not a lot of blood or gore or zombie scenes at all. Yet I was riveted as Robert goes through his "typical days" in NYC. Every moment was full of pathos and full of menace, too. And occasionally we got some relief from Smith's trademark humor that blended seamlessly with the rest of his performance to give us "what it would be like" with a powerful delivery that just leaves me almost breathless.

There's an effective use of flashbacks that partly tell us the story of how we got to where we're at in this grim New York City; and the flashbacks also serve to give us an overwhelming contrast between Life Before and Life After the apocalyptic disaster wiped out the city. Yet use of flashback was sparing, which I found all the more effective.

Cinematography was excellent throughout, the storyline and script are brilliant, the use of a dog, Samantha, as a key actor was perfect to show us both Robert as companion and Robert as lonely, isolated survivor.

I won't give away the ending, but think it was satisfying as far as it goes, but not nearly as appealing, from my angle, as the foregoing material. That brings up my one complaint: the title. By the end of the movie, we have some sense of the meaning of the title. Yet it still seems to me to feel cheesy and really unworthy of the movie.

But that's a minor plaint. If you haven't seen this movie, and would enjoy seeing a really powerful story about a survivor in post-apocalypse New York City, hey, go check out this flick. It's really worth it.

The way that they created the look of Manhattan in this movie was just wonderful and Will Smith pulls off one of his best acting turns as Robert Neville. The way he has his days planned out and still attempting the research to find a cure for the virus is a key part to the development of both character and plot.

Samantha (Sam) plays a strong part in the movie and is a great companion, friend and protector figure for Smith. The way he holds conversations with Sam is very touching indeed and makes you really feel that Sam is integral part of his survival and sanity.

Just a great movie, and I will not offer any of the things that will give the ending away. I can watch this movie many more times as it is that interesting and each time, it seems to reveal something that I missed in the original viewing.